In particular, it mentions that most of us already have sufficient Calcium in our diet and the Calcium supplementation is often unnecessary and in fact may even be hazardous to health. More likely is that there is a deficiency of Magnesium and that correcting this deficiency will allow the calcium to be better utilized by the body,

Other beneficial vitamins and minerals for teeth and bone health include Vitamin D3, Boron and Vitamin K.

So why is it then that these beneficial vitamins and nutrients are practically ignored by the mainstream?

FLUORIDE.

There is such a fanaticism about this toxic chemical being good for teeth, it is almost impossible to find a dentist that will say anything bad about Fluoride, but there is a reason. They are governed by a code of practice that prohibits them from saying anything bad about it.

There is no dispute that Fluoride is toxic. How toxic is it?
A quick look at the MSDS (Material Data Safety Sheet) reveals the LD50 (Median Lethal dose at which 50% of subjects die) is 52mg/kg in rats which borders the level between Moderately Toxic and Highly Toxic (Ref: CCOHS)

But perhaps we don’t need too delve to deep into the science though – Lets see what the ‘experts’ say;

What we do know is that fluoride is toxic – so toxic, in fact, that in 1984, the makers of Colgate, Procter & Gamble, reportedly admitted that a small tube of their toothpaste “theoretically at least contains enough fluoride to kill a small child”

Currently, only England has significant amounts of water fluoridation (fluoride added to the water supplies). Everywhere has trace amounts of fluoride naturally found in the water supply but these levels tend to be relatively low and as such are not generally considered to be a great risk to health.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is not currently fluoridated, although the Republic of Ireland is the most heavily fluoridated country in Europe. See NHF Ireland for more details about the long-term damage of water fluoridation and their campaign to get it removed.

Scotland
There are currently no plans to fluoridate water supplies in Scotland.

Wales
We have had confirmation from the Welsh Assembly that there are no plans to introduce water fluoridation to Wales. They advised that there is a scheme called DesignedToSmile which is targetting schoolchildren and encouraging the use of fluoridated toothpaste in schools. This scheme is currently being piloted around Wales. Our initial impression of this scheme are that the guidelines and warnings about Fluoride ingestion are insufficient and there although the scheme requires parental consent, there are no fluoride-free options within the scheme. Additionally, it appears that the teachers are to be trained to supervise the children brushing themselves. We have yet to see how this would be practicible with a class full of children!
We need more details about this scheme other than what is published on their website. If you know of anyone who has their children in a school operating this scheme, please contact us!

EnglandIn England, the decision of whether or not to fluoridate is in the hands of the LHA (Local Healh Authority).

* UPDATE 5th September 2011 *

‘The Health and Social Care Bill’ going through Report Stage in the House of Commons from tomorrow devotes a relatively significant section of its 460 pages to reforming the decision making about water fluoridation in a local area.

What does this mean? Well, according to UK Councils Against Fluoridation, the decision will pass from the Local Health Authority to the Local Council. They in turn are obliged to honour decision of their Director of Public Health who are known to be pro-fluoridation. Also this appears to eliminate the public consultation stage that was necessary when the decision was in the hands of the Local Health Authority (even though in the case of Southampton, the overwhelming disapproving majority were still ignored)

Southampton was recently added to the list. However the decision to fluoridate in Southampton was taken against the wishes of the vast majority of residents;
See BBC News
This may have set the precedence for other areas of the UK

Fluoride in this concentration represents a huge potential risk to individuals. Although toothpastes always have a warning “do not swallow” or similar on the box, it does not say what the risks are. Indeed often the only risk acknowledged from fluoridated products and the dental profession is the risk of dental fluorosis! By the time you have ingested enough fluoride to manifest itself on your teeth in the form of dental fluorosis, you can be pretty sure you have a toxic build up of fluoride in your system. As for the varnishes and other dental applications, all these will eventually be swallowed as they wear off your teeth while you are eating so these pose a huge risk.